Systems and methods for preventing sleep disturbance

ABSTRACT

A sleep monitoring and disturbance mitigation system may include a sleep status monitoring apparatus configured to collect real-time sleep data from a subject; to determine a sleep status based at least partially on the sleep data; and to transmit the real-time sleep data and sleep status to a remote receiving station; and a remote receiving station configured to receive the real-time sleep status data and the sleep status from the sleep status monitoring apparatus; to generate, based at least partially on the real-time sleep data and sleep status, a sleep disturbance priority and a sleep disturbance message including data indicative of the sleep status and the sleep disturbance priority; and to display the sleep disturbance priority message on a display located remotely from the sleep status monitoring apparatus. The sleep status monitoring apparatus may be configured to wirelessly transmit the real-time sleep data and sleep status. Real-time sleep data may include EEG data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed generally to the field of sleepmonitoring, and, more particularly, to systems and methods to minimizedisturbance of sleep of a subject by monitoring sleep and conveyingdisturbance events that are authorized to be administered to thesubject.

Description of Related Art

Sleep is important and plays a vital role in good health and well-being.Sleep can affect mental health, physical health, quality of life, andsafety. It affects the way individuals act and perform when they areawake. The dangers of sleep deficiency can include physical harm, suchas causing accidents while operating vehicles or machinery, or, overtime, can cause chronic health problems. Studies have also shown thatsleep helps significantly in the healing process. However, in manysettings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, individuals who are mostin need of sleep are unable to obtain quality sleep. This is due to thenumerous disturbances that occur in such settings, such as hospitalalarms, medication administration, vital measurements, and otherdisturbances that occur near constant to those trying to recover. Thisis sometimes due to emergency scenarios, but often it occurs becausepersonnel tasked with taking care of individuals in such situationsoften do not consider a patient's sleep schedule and the importance ofquality sleep. At least one study has shown that in a hospital setting,over the course of an entire week, most patients never obtain a fullsleep cycle, which is typically considered to be 90 minutes.

Devices exist, which are capable of monitoring sleep, such as thosedisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,512,221 to Kaplan et al., but no suchsystems have been previously used in combination with other componentsso as to convey permitted or redistricted disturbance events orprotocols to be administered to a subject so as to allow the healingproperties of sleep to inure to the benefit of a subject or patient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of sleep monitoring and disturbance mitigation systems mayinclude a sleep status monitoring apparatus configured to collectreal-time sleep data from a subject to determine a sleep status based atleast partially on the sleep data; and to transmit the real-time sleepdata and sleep status to a remote receiving station; and a remotereceiving station configured to receive the real-time sleep status dataand the sleep status from the sleep status monitoring apparatus; togenerate, based at least partially on the real-time sleep data and sleepstatus, a sleep disturbance priority and a sleep disturbance messagecomprising data indicative of the sleep status and the sleep disturbancepriority; and to display the sleep disturbance priority message on adisplay located remotely from the sleep status monitoring apparatus. Thesleep status monitoring apparatus may be configured to wirelesslytransmit the real-time sleep data and sleep status to the remotereceiving station, and the remote receiving station is configured towirelessly receive the real-time sleep status data and sleep status. Theremote receiving station may be configured to generate the sleepdisturbance priority and sleep disturbance message based on at leastsleep time of the subject. The remote receiving station may beconfigured to generate the sleep disturbance priority based further on apriority ranking of disturbance events. The priority ranking may includeat least two levels of disturbance priority. It may also include atleast three levels of disturbance priority.

In some embodiments, the remote receiving station may be configured togenerate a sleep disturbance message comprising data capable ofconveying at least one of the user actions of: (a) do not disturb thesubject except for top priority disturbance events; (b) disturb subjectonly for intermediate priority disturbance events; and (c) subject isawake and all disturbance events permitted. In such embodiments as well,the remote receiving station may be configured to generate the sleepdisturbance level based at least on sleep time of the subject and/or togenerate the sleep disturbance priority based further on a priorityranking of disturbance events, where the priority ranking could includeat least two and/or three levels of disturbance priority. In someembodiments, the user action (a) do not disturb the subject except fortop priority events may be conveyed by a red indicator; the user action(c) subject is awake and all disturbances permitted may be conveyed by agreen indicator; and/or the user action (b) disturb subject only forintermediate priority disturbance events may be conveyed by a yellowindicator.

In yet other embodiments, an EEG monitoring sensor may be incommunication with the sleep status monitoring apparatus, and thereal-time sleep data may be EEG data. The EEG monitoring sensorcomprises at least one electrode. The at least one electrode orelectrodes may be non-invasive.

In some embodiments, the remote receiving station may be located on orproximate to a subject room doorway or it may be located at anattendant's station positioned remotely from the subject. In someembodiments, the remote receiving station may be a workstation computer,or, alternatively, it may be a mobile communication device, such as asmart phone, tablet computer, or smart watch.

In one embodiment, the system may include an EEG monitoring sensor incommunication with the sleep status monitoring apparatus, wherein thereal-time sleep data comprises EEG data, wherein the remote receivingstation and the display are located on or proximate to a subject roomdoorway, and wherein the sleep status monitoring apparatus is configuredto wirelessly transmit the real-time sleep data to the remote receivingstation, and the remote receiving station is configured to wirelesslyreceive the real-time sleep data, the remote receiving station beingconfigured to generate a sleep disturbance message comprising datacapable of conveying at least the user actions of: (a) do not disturbthe subject except for top priority disturbance events by generating ared indicator; and (b) subject is awake and all disturbance eventspermitted by generating a green indicator.

In yet a further embodiment, a sleep monitoring and disturbancemitigation system, including a sleep status monitoring apparatus and aremote receiving station, may include instructions that, when executed,perform the following steps: collect real-time sleep data from a subjectat the sleep status monitoring apparatus; determine a sleep status;transmit the real-time sleep data to the remote receiving station;receive the real-time sleep data from the sleep status monitoring at theremote receiving station; generate based at least partially on thereal-time sleep data a sleep disturbance priority and a sleepdisturbance message comprising data indicative of the sleep disturbancepriority; and display the sleep disturbance message on a display locatedremotely from the sleep status monitoring apparatus. The transmitting ofthe real-time sleep data to the remote receiving station and receivingof the real-time sleep data at the remote receiving station may includewirelessly transmitting the real-time sleep status data to the remotereceiving station and wirelessly receiving the real-time sleep statusdata at the remote receiving station. The generating of the sleepdisturbance message may include generating a message comprising datacapable of conveying at least one of the user actions of: (a) do notdisturb the subject except for top priority disturbance events; (b)disturb subject only for intermediate priority disturbance events; and(c) subject is awake and all disturbance events permitted. Conveying theuser action (a) do not disturb the subject except for top priorityevents may include a red indicator. Conveying the user action (c)subject is awake and all disturbances permitted may be indicated by agreen indicator. The generating of the sleep disturbance level mayinclude generating the sleep disturbance priority based on at leastsleep time of the subject. The generating of the sleep disturbancepriority may include generating the sleep disturbance priority basedfurther on a priority ranking of disturbance events. As in otherembodiments, the priority ranking may include at least two levels ofdisturbance priority and/or three levels of disturbance priority.Displaying the sleep disturbance message may include displaying on adisplay located on or proximate to a subject room doorway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an overview of an embodiment of amethod to be performed in accordance with a system for preventing sleepdisturbance according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the functionshighlighted in box 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of a system forpreventing sleep disturbance according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of another embodiment of asystem for preventing sleep disturbance according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a detailed view of thecomponents highlighted in box 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of an embodiment of the rules of asystem for preventing sleep disturbance according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatical representation of another embodiment of asystem for preventing sleep disturbance according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatical representation of yet another embodiment of asystem for preventing sleep disturbance according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatical representation example of system hardware onwhich embodiments of methods and systems according to the presentinvention may be implemented.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1, the system and methods of the presentlydescribed embodiment generally may require the following: collectingreal time sleep data, determining sleep status, such as the amount oftime a subject has been asleep, generating a sleep disturbance prioritymessage, and then administering the protocol dictated by the determinedsleep status. The protocol could take the form of performing any numberof procedures on a subject individual. As discussed herein, suchprotocols refer to what the present disclosure will refer to generallyas disturbance events. Disturbance events are simply actions orprocedures administered to or for a subject, for example, a patient in ahospital setting. Examples of such actions may include taking vitalmeasurements, administering medication, flushing IV fluids, or changingsheets. The systems and methods described herein are described generallyin reference to a patient-hospital setting but may take the form of anysetting wherein a subject may require periods of continuous andprolonged sleep without disturbance.

The collection of sleep data can take many forms, and, may, for example,take the form of a sleep monitoring device. One form of a sleepmonitoring device that may be used is an electroencephalography (EEG)monitor, which could monitor brain activity. An example of a monitoringdevice 300 that may be used according to embodiments of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 7 and will be described in more detail hereinbelow. Other potential monitoring techniques may includeelectromyography (EMG), peripheral arterial tone (PAT), systolicupstroke time, electrocardiography (ECG/EKG), electrooculography (EOG),oximetry, heart rate monitoring, such as heart rate variations or heartrhythm variations, actigraphy, galvanic skin response (GSR), respiratorymonitoring, eye movements, temperature measurement, motion measurement,such as through accelerometers, or any other type of measurement thatcan be used to determine and/or measure sleep.

The functions included with box 2 of FIG. 1 generally may follow theprocess detailed at FIG. 2. For example, a monitoring apparatus 101,see, e.g., FIG. 3, may idle if it is determined that the subject is notconnected. If the subject is connected to the monitoring device 101, asillustrated at decision point 11, the system may then make adetermination of whether the subject is asleep, as indicated by decisionpoint 12 in FIG. 2. This decision may be made at a monitoring apparatus101, at a receiving station 110, described in more detail herein below,or elsewhere in the overall system. If the subject is asleep, the systemmay make a sleep status determination, such as at decision point 13. Forexample, the system may determine for how long the subject has beenasleep, what stage of sleep the subject is presently in, or some othermeasurement of the length and/or quality of the subject's sleep. Theexample illustrated in FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the system thatuses the amount of time the subject has been asleep to determine whatprotocol should be used.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the system determines whether the subjecthas been asleep for a predetermined period of time t_(p). If the subjecthas, in fact, been asleep for the period of time t_(p), then anintermediate disturbance priority exists and disturbance eventscategorized as intermediate priority disturbance events are authorizedto be performed. Likewise, as illustrated in FIG. 2, if the systemdetermines that the subject has not been asleep for the predeterminedperiod of time t_(p), then the subject is in the top disturbancepriority category, wherein only disturbance events categorized as toppriority disturbance events are authorized to be performed. If it isdetermined that the subject is awake, indicated in FIG. 2 by the “No”branch of decision point 12, then the system may determine at decisionpoint 14 whether the subject is transitioning to sleep, such as by oneor any combination of the sleep monitoring techniques described above.If it is determined that the subject is transitioning to sleep,indicated by the “Yes” branch of decision point 14, then disturbanceevents authorized only for the transition phase of sleep may beadministered to the subject. If it is determined that the subject is nottransitioning to sleep, indicated by the “No” decision branch ofdecision point 14, then no disturbance priority is necessary anddisturbance events of all priority levels may be administered. Thesystem then generates a disturbance priority message conveying that theparticular disturbance events authorized for a particular disturbancepriority are permitted to be performed on the subject.

As shown in FIG. 2, after the system has determined whether the subjecthas been asleep for a predetermined period of time t_(p), less than thepredetermined period of time t_(p), or is awake, the system thengenerates a disturbance priority message for conveying the particulardisturbance events that are authorized to be performed on the subjectbased on the determined disturbance priority, i.e., intermediatepriority events (including top priority events) for an intermediatedisturbance priority, top priority events for a top disturbancepriority, transition disturbance events for a transition disturbancepriority, and all disturbance events if the subject is awake. Thedisturbance priority message is then further displayed so as to conveythat information to an operator, or, in the case of a hospital setting,an attendant nurse, physician, or other hospital personnel, so that theauthorized protocol can be administered on the subject.

As shown in FIG. 3, an embodiment of a system 100 according to thepresent invention may include a sleep status monitoring apparatus 101, areceiving station 110, and a display 130. The monitoring apparatus 101is in communication the receiving station 110, which, in turn, in iscommunication with the display 130. In some embodiments, the receivingstation 110 and the display 130 may be integrated into a single deviceor they may be separate devices, which could be located remotely fromeach other. The monitoring apparatus 101 is connected in some manner toa subject S. The subject S may be a patient in a hospital setting, aresident of a nursing home, a volunteer for a sleep study, or a personin any other setting wherein monitoring of sleep data may be useful. Insome embodiments, the system may include an optional database 120 thatis accessible by the receiving station 110 and/or the monitoringapparatus 100. The database 120 may contain rules relating to certainpriority events in the system. The database 120 may be located on thereceiving station 110, on the monitoring apparatus 101, or anywhereelse, for example, on a server or computer on a network, that isaccessible to the receiving station 110 and the monitoring apparatus101.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a system 200 may include aplurality of sleep status monitoring apparatuses 201 a-201 f, aplurality of receiving stations 210 a-210 h, a database 220, and anetwork 240. In this illustration, system 200 of FIG. 4 is depicted as aportion of a hospital floor with attending medical personnel P1 and P2,but this configuration may be used in settings wherein multiplemonitoring apparatuses/receiving stations are necessary. As shown, eachof the monitoring apparatuses 201 a-201 f, receiving stations 210 a-210h, and database 220 may be in communication with the network 240. Insome embodiments, the monitoring apparatuses and receiving stations maybe in direct communication with each other, such as shown with respectto monitoring apparatuses 201 d-201 f and receiving stations 210 d-210f. For example, they may be connected directly through wirelesscommunication, such as Bluetooth®, or through direct wired connection.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the monitoring apparatuses andreceiving stations may be connected over the broader network 240, suchas shown with respect to monitoring apparatuses 201 a-201 c andreceiving stations 210 a-210 c, 210 g, 210 h.

As illustrated, the receiving stations 210 a-210 f of FIG. 4 maypositioned remotely from the monitoring apparatus directly outsidepatient rooms 250 a-250 f. However, the receiving stations may also bepositioned remotely to even the patient rooms 250 a-250 f, such as withrespect to receiving stations 210 g, 210 h. Receiving station 210 g maybe located at an attendant or nurse's station 260, and may take the formof a computer having a monitor display 230 g. In this regard, multiplesubjects may be monitored from a single receiving station. Receivingstation 210 h may be a portable or mobile device, such as tabletcomputer, smart phone, or smart watch, having a display 230 h that canaccompany medical personnel P1 regardless of P1's location. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, receiving stations 210 b-210 f do not include aseparate display, as they may optionally include an integrated display,such as on a tablet computer or smart phone. Room 250 a, on the otherhand, shows an embodiment wherein the receiving station 210 a isseparate from the display 230 a. In this instance, receiving station 210a may, for example be a computer or other hardware capable of receivingand processing the data transferred from the monitoring apparatus anddisplaying data on the display 230 a. In such embodiments, receivingstation 210 a may be positioned inside room 250 a with display 230 aoutside of room 250 a. Or, as illustrated, both receiving station 210 aand display 230 a may be position directly outside of room 250 a.

As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the database 220 may be connected tothe various other components of the system 200 via the network 240, suchby being located on a server 225 on network 240. Alternatively, thedatabase 220 may be located on one or more of the monitoring apparatuses201 a-201 f or receiving stations 210 a-210 h.

Referring now to FIG. 5, which is an enlarged view of room 250 d of FIG.4, the monitoring apparatus is connected to subject S_(d). Themonitoring apparatus 201 d may take the form of an EEG monitor, such asthe commercially available Z-MACHINE® from General Sleep Corporation ofEuclid, Ohio or the MUSE™ from Interaxon. Of course, other techniquesfor monitoring the sleep of the subject S_(d) may be utilized, such asEMG, ECG/EKG, PAT, EOG, GSR, heart monitoring, respiratory monitoring,accelerometers, or other means of measuring motion, and temperaturemeasurement. In embodiments where the monitoring apparatus 201 d takesthe form of an EEG device/monitor, the apparatus measures or monitorselectrical brain activity to track and/or record brain wave patterns.The monitoring apparatus 201 d may take the form of electrodes placed onthe head, or elsewhere, on the subject S_(d). Alternatively, themonitoring apparatus 201 d may take the form of a headband to be worn onthe head of subject S_(d), wherein the headband would include electrodesto measure electrical brain activity. The monitoring apparatus 201 d isin communication with the receiving station 210 d. The monitoringapparatus may be connected directly to receiving station 210 d, such asthrough the connections explained above, or through the broader network240. The example shown in FIG. 5 shows the receiving station 210 d ashaving an integral display 230 d. In this instance, receiving station201 d may take the form of a tablet computer, but may take the form ofany hardware capable of receiving and processing the data transmittedfrom the monitoring apparatus and displaying data indicative of the datareceived.

In practice, the monitoring apparatus 201 d collects real-time sleepstatus data from the subject S_(d). For example, in the case where themonitoring apparatus 201 d takes the form of an EEG monitoring device,the monitoring apparatus could measure and collect electrical brainactivity data, or, in the case where the monitoring apparatus 201 dincludes accelerometer functionality, the monitoring apparatus maymeasure and collect movement data. The monitoring apparatus 201 d alsotransmits the real-time sleep status data to the remotely positionedreceiving station 210 d via, as explained above, BLUETOOTH® or otherwireless communication method, through a larger network, and/or a wiredconnection. The receiving station 210 d, upon receiving the real-timesleep status data, may process the data according to the stepsillustrated in FIGS. 1-2. Accordingly, it may determine a sleepdisturbance priority based at least partially on the real-time sleepstatus data and may generate a sleep disturbance message including dataindicative of the sleep disturbance priority level. The determination ofthe sleep disturbance priority may take place alternatively at themonitoring apparatus 201 d as well. The receiving station may thendisplay the sleep disturbance message on the display 230 d locatedremotely from the sleep status monitoring apparatus 201 d.

In some embodiments, the systems herein may incorporate a database, suchas databases 120, 220. Referring to database 120 of FIG. 3, the databasemay be accessible by both the receiving station 110 and the monitoringapparatus 101. The database 120 may be located on either the receivingstation 110 or the monitoring apparatus 101. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 2, a database 220 may simply be accessible to the variouscomponents of the system via the overall network. The database may takethe form a relational database. The database may include rulesassociated with what disturbance events may be administered. Forexample, the rules may include a priority ranking of disturbance eventsto be administered by an operator on the subject.

A graphic depiction of an exemplary embodiment of these rules is shownin FIG. 6. In FIG. 6 the horizontal axis represents sleep time. Thereare two points in time represented on the horizontal axis, t_(p) andt_(a). Time t_(p) represents a predetermined period of time, which maybe a period of sleep determined to be long enough to provide a sleepbenefit to the subject. For example, t_(p) may represent one sleepcycle, a particular stage of sleep, or any other period of time. In oneembodiment, t_(p) may be 90 minutes. After a subject falls asleep, butbefore time t_(p), the rules in the database may require the system torecognize a top disturbance priority and they may restrict alldisturbance events to be administered on the subject except for a smallnumber of top priority events, which may be considered emergency events.After the time t_(p), but before time t_(a), which the time at which thesubject is awake, the rules in the database may require the system torecognize an intermediate disturbance priority and they may permitintermediate disturbance events that are not emergency procedures, butthat are important enough to justify disturbing the subject. The rulesin this instance may also permit administration of the top priorityevents during this time period. After time t_(a), the system mayrecognize no disturbance priority is necessary, and the rules maydictate as such. The rules at this stage may also specify that alldisturbance events, regardless of disturbance priority designation, maybe administered. The rules would permit all disturbance events that arenot categorized as intermediate or top priority to be performed, inaddition to the intermediate or top priority events. These otherremaining events may be categorized as low priority disturbance events.The rules may dictate that those disturbance events with no prioritydesignation or a low priority designation would never be permitted to beperformed during an intermediate disturbance priority or a topdisturbance priority. FIG. 6 represents the disturbance events as apyramid with the top priority events being at the top, the intermediatein the middle, and all remaining disturbance events at the base of thepyramid. This is because the rules may be implemented in such a way soas minimize the number of top priority events that are always requiredto be performed on a subject regardless of the subject's level/time ofsleep, whereas the intermediate priority events that are permitted maybe slightly more in number, and whereas, when the subject is awake,there are no restrictions on the number of disturbance events that maybe performed. Alternatively, to be implemented on a database, theserules could be implemented on the receiving stations or monitoringapparatuses separately. For example, they could be programed into anapplication for an operating system, a tablet computer, smart phone, orother computing software, which is saved on such computer devices' harddrives.

Alternative rules may dictate the disturbance priority and authorizeddisturbance priority events based not simply on time, but on the stageof sleep or sleep cycle of the patient as opposed to or in combinationwith the patient's sleep time. For example, the monitoring apparatus maydetermine the stage of sleep, e.g., the standard stages 1-4 and REMsleep, based on the sleep data, e.g., EEG data, being recorded from thesubject, and then based on the disturbance events and rules in thedatabase make a determination as to what the disturbance priority leveland/or authorized disturbance events should be. Rules may also betailored to a particular subject depending on the subject's needs. Alearning loop may also be included, wherein the monitoring apparatus orthe receiving station modifies the rules applied to a particularsubject. For example, the system may start with a single set of rulesdictating which disturbance events may be administered on set timeintervals of sleep, or on particular stages of sleep. But afteradministering these rules, the receiving station or monitoring apparatusmay determine that a subject is not responding to or responds better toa particular disturbance event during a particular stage of sleep ortime interval. This determination may be accomplished through manualentry of information by an operator or by direct measurement of thesubject. After acquiring this information, the system may then adjustthe rules as applied to the subject to modify the disturbance prioritydesignation of one or more disturbance events. In other examples, asystem, such as system 200 of FIG. 4, having multiple nodes mayimplement a learning loop utilizing information gathered from one ormultiple nodes so as to adjust the rules to a standard across allsubjects.

Non-limiting examples of disturbance events may be as follows: vitalsign measurement, patient bathing/oral hygiene, toileting, turning andpositions, blood sugar testing, blood draws, VTE prophylaxis, specimencollection, oxygen administration, respiratory treatments, medicationadministration, IV medication administration, new patient assessmentpaperwork, new patient assessment MD, X-rays, intake and output, weightand/or height measurements. In some embodiments, patient assessmentpaperwork, X-rays, weight and/or height measurements, or intake andoutput, may be examples of a low priority disturbance event, whereasmedication administration, turning and positions, toileting, and vitalsign measurement may be examples of intermediate priority disturbanceevents, and whereas oxygen administration and respiratory treatments maybe examples of top priority disturbance events. Any combination ofprocedures or events may be combined according the needs of a particularapplication.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an embodiment of a system 300 according to thepresent invention may include a receiving station 310 and a monitoringapparatus 301 that may be wirelessly connected to one another. Themonitoring apparatus 301 may take the form of an EEG monitoring devicethat includes EEG monitoring sensors, such as electrodes 305, which maycontact the subject. In some embodiments, the electrodes 305 may beplaced on the head for EEG monitoring.

As shown in FIG. 8, in another embodiment, a system 400 may include amonitoring apparatus 401 and a receiving station 410. In thisembodiment, however, the monitoring apparatus 401 may include a headband407, that incorporates electrodes 405, that is to be positioned in anoninvasive manner on the subject's head. As evident from FIGS. 7-8, themonitoring apparatus may include displays 330, 430. The displays may beconfigured to display the messages generated by the receiving stationsand/or monitoring apparatuses.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 7-8, the displays 330, 430 may be configuredsuch that they display a message that conveys data indicative of thesubject's sleep status and the sleep disturbance priority. For example,the displays 330, 430 may include a message conveying that the subjectis awake or asleep. The displays 330, 430 may also display the amount oftime a subject has been asleep, such as illustrated on the areasindicated by reference lines 335, 435. Other data may also be includedsuch as illustrated by the areas indicated by reference lines 337, 437.Examples of other data that may be included, including the disturbanceevents authorized for a particular patient during a particulardisturbance priority, such as dictated by the rules explained hereinabove, the vitals of the patient, as measured, for example, byconventional means, and transmitted to the receiving stations,identifying information or other information about the subject. In someembodiments, the displays may display green to indicate that the subjectis awake and that all disturbance events may be administered, and thedisplay may likewise display red to indicate that the subject is asleepand only emergency disturbance priority events may be administered. Ayellow designation on the display may also be used to indicate thatintermediate priority events, as well as top level events, may beadministered such as after the subject has a reached a predeterminedperiod of sleep or stage of sleep. The display may also indicate whetherthe subject is transitioning to sleep.

In yet further embodiments, a non-audible alarm system may be used. Inhospital settings, in particular, audible alarms, such as buzzing orbeeping, are used to indicate to an operator, such as a nurse, thatsomething needs to be addressed, such as medication needing to bereplaced/refilled, vital measurements reaching prohibited limits, etc.However, a non-audibile alarm system may be used wherein an operator hasa mobile device, such as a smart watch, smart phone, tablet, pager, orother mobile device, that can produce a non-audible alarm. What is meantby non-audible is non-audible by the subject so as not to disturb thesubject more than is necessary. For example, the mobile device mayvibrate, or an audible alarm remote from the subject, such as at anurses' station, or on a remotely located operator's mobile device maybe used. In some embodiments, when an alarm event occurs in a patient'sroom, a central control system (e.g., a central server or a cloud basedprocessing system) is notified (e.g., via a Bluetooth® Internet Gatewayconnected to the alarm producing device or other communicationsprotocol) of the alarm event and determines which mobile device(s)should be notified of the alarm event without the alarm actuallysounding in the patient's room. The mobile devices can produce anon-audible notification, such as a vibration, in response to beingnotified of the alarm event. In some embodiments, the mobile devices canreceive and display information indicating where the alarm event isoccurring, a type of the alarm event, etc., and/or request input fromthe individual, such as an acknowledgement that he or she has beennotified of the event. In another embodiment, multiple individuals or ahierarchy of individuals can be notified of the alarm event. Forexample, a second individual can be notified of the alarm event if afirst individual fails to provide an acknowledgement thereto within acertain time period.

The above described embodiments, systems, and methods may be implementedon a variety of computing devices and systems, including mobile devices,such as smart phones and/or tablet computers, and/or server computers,wherein these computing devices include the appropriate processingmechanisms and computer-readable media for storing and executingcomputer-readable instructions, such as programming instructions, code,and the like. As shown in FIG. 9, computers 900, 944, in a computingsystem environment 902 are provided. This computing system environment902 may include, but is not limited to, at least one computer 900 havingcertain components for appropriate operation, execution of code, andcreation and communication of data. For example, the computer 900includes a processing unit 904 (typically referred to as a centralprocessing unit or CPU) that serves to execute computer-basedinstructions received in the appropriate data form and format. Further,this processing unit 904 may be in the form of multiple processorsexecuting code in series, in parallel, or in any other manner forappropriate implementation of the computer-based instructions.

In order to facilitate appropriate data communication and processinginformation between the various components of the computer 900, a systembus 906 may be utilized. The system bus 906 may be any of several typesof bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, or a local bus using any of a variety of busarchitectures. In particular, the system bus 906 facilitates data andinformation communication between the various components (whetherinternal or external to the computer 900) through a variety ofinterfaces, as discussed hereinafter.

The computer 900 may include a variety of discrete computer-readablemedia components. For example, this computer-readable media may includeany media that can be accessed by the computer 900, such as volatilemedia, non-volatile media, removable media, non-removable media, etc. Asa further example, this computer-readable media may include computerstorage media, such as media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data, random access memory (RAM),read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read onlymemory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (DVDs), or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer 900.Further, this computer-readable media may include communications media,such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in other transport mechanisms and include anyinformation delivery media, wired media (such as a wired network and adirect-wired connection), and wireless media, such as Wi-Fi and/orBluetooth® technology. Of course, combinations of any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The computer 900 further includes a system memory 908 with computerstorage media in the form of volatile and non-volatile memory, such asROM and RAM. A basic input/output system (BIOS) with appropriatecomputer-based routines assists in transferring information betweencomponents within the computer 900 and is normally stored in ROM. TheRAM portion of the system memory 908 typically contains data and programmodules that are immediately accessible to or presently being operatedon by processing unit 904, e.g., an operating system, applicationprogramming interfaces, application programs, program modules, programdata, and other instruction-based computer-readable codes.

With continued reference to FIG. 9, the computer 900 may also includeother removable or non-removable, volatile or non-volatile computerstorage media products. For example, the computer 900 may include anon-removable memory interface 910 that communicates with and controls ahard disk drive 912, i.e., a non-removable, non-volatile magneticmedium; and a removable, non-volatile memory interface 914 thatcommunicates with and controls a magnetic disk drive unit 916 (whichreads from and writes to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk 918),an optical disk drive unit 920 (which reads from and writes to aremovable, non-volatile optical disk 922, such as a CD ROM), a universalserial bus (USB) port 921 for use in connection with a removable memorycard, etc. However, it is envisioned that other removable ornon-removable, volatile or non-volatile computer storage media can beused in the exemplary computing system environment 900, including, butnot limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, DVDs, digital video tape, solidstate RAM, solid state ROM, etc. These various removable ornon-removable, volatile or non-volatile magnetic media are incommunication with the processing unit 904 and other components of thecomputer 900 via the system bus 906. The drives and their associatedcomputer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 9 providestorage of operating systems, computer-readable instructions,application programs, data structures, program modules, program data,and other instruction-based computer-readable code for the computer 900(whether duplicative or not of this information and data in the systemmemory 908).

A user may enter commands, information, and data into the computer 900through certain attachable or operable input devices, such as a keyboard924, a mouse 926, a touchscreen, etc., via a user input interface 928.Of course, a variety of such input devices may be utilized, e.g., amicrophone, a trackball, a joystick, a touchpad, a touch-screen, ascanner, etc., including any arrangement that facilitates the input ofdata, and information to the computer 900 from an outside source. Asdiscussed, these and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit 904 through the user input interface 928 coupled to thesystem bus 906, but may be connected by other interface and busstructures, such as a parallel port, game port, or a USB. Still further,data and information can be presented or provided to a user in anintelligible form or format through certain output devices, such as amonitor 930 (to visually display this information and data in electronicform), a printer 932 (to physically display this information and data inprint form), a speaker 934 (to audibly present this information and datain audible form), etc. All of these devices are in communication withthe computer 900 through an output interface 936 coupled to the systembus 906. It is envisioned that any such peripheral output devices can beused to provide information and data to the user.

The computer 900 may operate in a network environment 938 through theuse of a communications device 940, which is integral to the computer orremote therefrom. This communications device 940 is operable by and incommunication to the other components of the computer 900 through acommunications interface 942. Using such an arrangement, the computer900 may connect with or otherwise communicate with one or more remotecomputers, such as a remote computer 944, which may be a personalcomputer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a server, a router, anetwork personal computer, a peer device, or other common network nodes,and typically includes many or all of the components described above inconnection with the computer 900. Using appropriate communicationdevices 940, e.g., a modem, a network interface or adapter, etc., thecomputer 900 may operate within and communicate through a local areanetwork (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN), but may also include othernetworks such as a virtual private network (VPN), an office network, anenterprise network, an intranet, the Internet, etc. It will beappreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers 900,944 may be used.

As used herein, the computer 900 includes or is operable to executeappropriate custom-designed or conventional software to perform andimplement the processing steps of the method and system of the presentinvention, thereby, forming a specialized and particular computingsystem. Accordingly, the presently-invented method and system mayinclude one or more computers 900 or similar computing devices, such assmart phones, personal computers, and tablet computers, having acomputer-readable storage medium capable of storing computer-readableprogram code or instructions that cause the processing unit 902 toexecute, configure, or otherwise implement the methods, processes, andtransformational data manipulations discussed hereinafter in connectionwith the present invention. Still further, the computer 900 may be inthe form of a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, aportable computer, a laptop, a palmtop, a mobile device, a mobiletelephone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a server, or any other typeof computing device having the necessary processing hardware toappropriately process data to effectively implement thepresently-invented computer-implemented method and system.

Although the invention has been described herein in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood thatsuch detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intendedto cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to beunderstood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extentpossible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined withone or more features of any other embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sleep monitoring and disturbancemitigation system comprising: a sleep status monitoring apparatusconfigured to collect real-time sleep data from a subject; to determinea sleep status based at least partially on the sleep data; and totransmit the real-time sleep data and sleep status to a remote receivingstation; and a remote receiving station configured to receive thereal-time sleep status data and the sleep status from the sleep statusmonitoring apparatus; to generate a sleep disturbance priority, based atleast partially on the real-time sleep data and sleep status, whereinthe sleep disturbance priority comprises one of at least three levels ofpriority comprising a top level priority, an intermediate levelpriority, and a low level priority; to generate a sleep disturbancemessage based on the generated sleep disturbance priority, wherein thelow level priority causes the remote receiving station to generate asleep disturbance message conveying that all disturbance eventscategorized as low level, intermediate, and top level are permitted,wherein the intermediate level priority causes the remote receivingstation to generate a sleep disturbance message conveying that alldisturbance events categorized as intermediate and top level arepermitted, and wherein the top level priority causes the remotereceiving station to generate a sleep disturbance message conveying thatonly disturbance events categorized as top level are permitted; and todisplay the sleep disturbance message on a display located remotely fromthe sleep status monitoring apparatus.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe sleep status monitoring apparatus is configured to wirelesslytransmit the real-time sleep data and sleep status to the remotereceiving station, and the remote receiving station is configured towirelessly receive the real-time sleep status data and sleep status. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the remote receiving station isconfigured to generate the sleep disturbance priority and sleepdisturbance message based on at least sleep time of the subject.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the remote receiving station is configured togenerate a sleep disturbance message comprising data capable ofconveying one of the user actions of: (a) do not disturb the subjectexcept for top priority disturbance events; (b) disturb the subject onlyfor intermediate and top priority disturbance events; and (c) thesubject is awake and all disturbance events permitted.
 5. The system ofclaim 4, wherein the remote receiving station is configured to generatethe sleep disturbance priority based at least on sleep time of thesubject.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the user action (a) isconveyed by a red indicator.
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein the useraction (c) is conveyed by a green indicator.
 8. The system of claim 4,wherein the user action (b) is conveyed by a yellow indicator.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising an electroencephalogram (EEG)monitoring sensor in communication with the sleep status monitoringapparatus, and wherein the real-time sleep data comprises EEG data. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein at least one electrode of the EEGmonitoring sensor is non-invasive.
 11. The system of claim 1, whereinthe remote receiving station is located on or proximate to a subjectroom doorway.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote receivingstation is located at an attendant station positioned remotely from thesubject.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote receiving stationis a workstation computer.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotereceiving station is a mobile communication device.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the remote receiving station is a smart phone.
 16. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the remote receiving station is a tabletcomputer.
 17. The system of claim 1, further comprising an EEGmonitoring sensor in communication with the sleep status monitoringapparatus, and wherein the real-time sleep data comprises EEG data,wherein the remote receiving station and the display are located on orproximate to a subject room doorway, and wherein the sleep statusmonitoring apparatus is configured to wirelessly transmit the real-timesleep data to the remote receiving station, and the remote receivingstation is configured to wirelessly receive the real-time sleep data,the remote receiving station being configured to generate a sleepdisturbance message comprising data capable of conveying one of the useractions of: (a) do not disturb the subject except for top prioritydisturbance events by generating a red indicator; and (b) subject isawake and all disturbance events permitted by generating a greenindicator.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the remote receivingstation is a tablet computer.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein theremote receiving station is further configured to modify a priorityranking of disturbance events based on the subject's response topreviously administering one or more disturbance events to the subject.20. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote receiving station isconfigured to modify a priority ranking of disturbance events based on aplurality of subjects' responses to previously administering one or moredisturbance events to said subjects, each subject of the plurality ofsubjects being remote from one another and separately connected to arespective sleep status monitoring apparatus, each sleep statusmonitoring apparatus connected to the remote receiving station via anetwork.
 21. A sleep monitoring and disturbance mitigation methodcomprising a sleep status monitoring apparatus and a remote receivingstation, the method comprising the following steps: collecting real-timesleep data from a subject at the sleep status monitoring apparatus;determining a sleep status at the sleep status monitoring apparatus orthe remote receiving station; transmitting the real-time sleep data tothe remote receiving station; receiving the real-time sleep data fromthe sleep status monitoring at the remote receiving station; generatingat the remote receiving station, based at least partially on thereal-time sleep data and a priority ranking of sleep disturbance events,a sleep disturbance priority and a sleep disturbance message comprisingdata indicative of the sleep disturbance priority, wherein the sleepdisturbance priority comprises one of at least three levels of prioritycomprising a top level priority, an intermediate level priority, and alow level priority; wherein the sleep disturbance message is at leastpartially based on the generated sleep disturbance priority, wherein thelow level priority causes the remote receiving station to generate asleep disturbance message conveying that all disturbance eventscategorized as low level, intermediate, and top level are permitted,wherein the intermediate level priority causes the remote receivingstation to generate a sleep disturbance message conveying that alldisturbance events categorized as intermediate and top level arepermitted, and wherein the top level priority causes the remotereceiving station to generate a sleep disturbance message conveying thatonly disturbance events categorized as top level are permitted; anddisplaying the sleep disturbance message on a display located remotelyfrom the sleep status monitoring apparatus.
 22. The method of claim 21,wherein transmitting the real-time sleep data to the remote receivingstation and receiving the real-time sleep data at the remote receivingstation comprises wirelessly transmitting the real-time sleep statusdata to the remote receiving station and wirelessly receiving thereal-time sleep status data at the remote receiving station.
 23. Themethod of claim 21, wherein generating the sleep disturbance messagecomprises generating a message comprising data capable of conveying oneof the user actions of: (a) do not disturb the subject except for toppriority disturbance events; (b) disturb the subject only forintermediate and top priority disturbance events; and (c) the subject isawake and all disturbance events permitted.
 24. The method of claim 23,wherein generating the sleep disturbance priority comprises generatingthe sleep disturbance priority based on at least sleep time of thesubject.
 25. The method of claim 23, further comprising conveying theuser action (a) by a red indicator.
 26. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising conveying the user action (c) by a green indicator.
 27. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the display is located on or proximate to asubject room doorway.
 28. The method of claim 21, further comprisingmodifying the priority ranking of disturbance events based on thesubject's response to previously administering one or more disturbanceevents to the subject.
 29. The method of claim 21, further comprisingmodifying the priority ranking of disturbance events based on aplurality of subjects' responses to previously administering one or moredisturbance events to said subjects, each subject of the plurality ofsubjects being remote from one another and separately connected to arespective sleep status monitoring apparatus, each sleep statusmonitoring apparatus connected to the remote receiving station via anetwork.